For some people, attending a work-based certification is preferred than going to a university. They argue that having a work-based training might help them to get a job faster. But despite the benefit, there are other things that need to be taken into consideration, because there are several weaknesses for choosing this instead of going to a university.
Pursuing a diploma, or a work-based training is popular because it needs shorter time to finish, and eventually, requires less cost. However, completing your study at the university need at least 4 years before you can finally get your degree, and because of that, the fee will be definitely higher. For example, some trainings need only $250 for a year program, while university need $1,500 in total.
But, there are several downsides in choosing diploma over university. One of them is because a diploma is not teaching their students deep-enough knowledge, so they will lack the ability to understand a broader range of their own subject. This might be caused by a practical-focus curriculum that a diploma had, so the students are more expert on doing on-hands task rather than thinking-task.
Secondly, there are several companies that taking degree into consideration for career development. It is clear that studying at the university will force us to master some basic soft-skills such as leadership, communication, problem solving, time management, etc, that can help you to do your job more efficiently. For example, I know someone that graduated with a diploma certification, and he cannot promoted to a manager because the management of the company set a standard that a manager should be at least having a bachelors degree.
To conclude, I personally think that having a degree from university is better in general, because you can have a deep knowledge and develop enough soft skills that can be very useful for your career growth.